Seán Ryan (Dublin North, Labour)
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Question 121: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the progress made to date on the report on rural housing commissioned by his Department from the National Spatial Research Institute at NUI Maynooth; when he expects to receive the report; when it will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22220/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis, NIRSA, at NUI Maynooth was commissioned by my Department in late 2004 to prepare a study on spatial trends and related issues in rural areas. NIRSA has an extensive database which, inter alia, contains data on house numbers and their locations, farm numbers and their locations and construction statistics. The data will allow for comparisons between different time periods. NIRSA is now preparing a series of maps with supporting text and tables. They will produce electoral district level maps showing the density of one-off houses, the numbers constructed during different periods, the ratio of farm to non-farm one-offs, and some supporting explanatory maps on population density, population change, etc.

The study is expected to be complete by the autumn. The outcomes of this project and the various other research projects currently under way will constitute a significant advance in the knowledge base available in support of the ongoing implementation of the national spatial strategy, and regional local planning.